The Science Apprentice Conference 2024: Advancing Skills, Connecting Apprentices

After last year’s success, The Science Apprentice Conference is back for another year!

The Science Apprentice Conference is the UK’s first conference designed specifically for science apprentices, aiming to connect apprentices & celebrate their sector wide impact. Better still, to be able to reach as many science apprentices as possible, The Science Apprentice Conference is completely free!

This year’s event will take place in Manchester, hosted by our partners at Manchester Metropolitan University, with workshops, networking and talks being aligned to this year’s theme: Advancing skills, connecting apprentices.

For 2024, the Science Apprenticeship Forum has teamed up with Manchester Metropolitan University, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Science Council to organise the second national Science Apprentice Conference open to all science apprentices.

Join us on the day to build your network, enhance your skills, and find out where your apprenticeship can take you. Our workshops, tailored specifically for apprentices, will advance your skills for apprenticeship success and take your career where you want it to go. There will also be the opportunity to take part in the poster competition for a chance to win up to £350!

What's more, attendance will count towards your off the job training hours, and could help you to develop and evidence some of your apprenticeship's KSBs!

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

The programme for the day is as follows:

Keynote address

This year’s keynote speaker is the brilliant climate scientist and science communicator Ella Gilbert!

Facilitated Networking

Whether you’re attending the conference as a solo apprentice or as a part of a group we’d like to help you expand your apprentice networks through a facilitated networking session designed to increase your confidence and get you mingling with your fellow delegates.

Poster Competition

We know that apprentices bring fresh thinking, innovation, and impact to their workplaces- so tell us about the difference that you have made! Take part in our poster competition to be in with a chance to win up to £350- this is optional and open to all delegates.

Create an eye-catching poster that tells us about your achievements as an apprentice- this could be something you have done to make a process more efficient, a way of improving teamwork and communication at your company, or a challenge you helped to solve through your contributions. We want to hear about and celebrate your brilliant work!

All poster competition entries should be emailed to scienceapprenticeshipforum@gmail.com with your name and poster title by Wednesday 4^th September 2024. Guidance can be found here: Poster Guidance.

Skills workshops

If you’re looking to improve your scientific communication or build up your resilience to master the work-life-study balance, we’ve got you covered. Our designated skills sessions have been specially designed for apprentices in order to help you advance your skills and maximise your ability to succeed.

Apprentice Travel Bursary

We recognise that some apprentices may not have access to the travel funds required to be able to attend The Science Apprentice Conference therefore we have put together an apprentice travel bursary which will fund travel costs of up to £300 upon successful application. To apply for funding please email scienceapprenticeshipforum@gmail.com with a completed application form which can be found at the following link Bursary Application Form.

Venue Details

Please see all venue travel options and SODA building accessibility maps at https://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel